Little Lake Theatre Whistleblower Policy
Little Lake Theatre (“the theatre”) requires its directors, officers, employees and volunteers to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities within the theatre. As representatives of the theatre, we must practice honesty and integrity in fulfilling our responsibilities and must comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
The purpose of this Whistleblower Policy is to create an ethical and open working environment, to ensure that the theatre has a governance and accountability structure that supports its mission, and to encourage and enable directors, officers, employees and volunteers of the theatre to raise serious concerns about the occurrence of illegal or unethical actions within the theatre before turning to outside parties for resolution.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Whistleblower Policy to the contrary, this Whistleblower Policy is not an employment contract and does not modify existing or create any employment relationships between the theatre and any of its directors, officers, employees or volunteers, nor does it change the fact that all employees of the theatre are employees at will. Nothing contained in this Whistleblower Policy provides any director, officers, employee or volunteer of the theatre with any additional rights or causes of action not otherwise available under applicable law.
Reporting Responsibility
All directors, officers, employees and volunteers of the theatre have a responsibility to report any action or suspected action taken within the theatre that is illegal, unethical or violates any adopted policy of the theatre ("Violations"). These Policies can be found on the bulletin boards, on the Google Drive and in the Board of Director binder.
Anyone reporting a Violation must act in good faith, without malice to the theatre or any individual within the theatre and have reasonable grounds for believing that the information shared in the report indicates that a Violation has occurred. A person who makes a report does not have to prove that a Violation has occurred. However, any report which the reporter has made maliciously or any report which the reporter has good reason to believe is false will be viewed as a serious offense and result in disciplinary action for employees and removal from the theatre for directors, officers, and volunteers.
No Retaliation
No one who in good faith reports a Violation or who, in good faith, cooperates in the investigation of a Violation shall suffer harassment, retaliation or adverse employment or volunteer status consequences. Any individual within the theatre who retaliates against another individual who has reported a Violation in good faith or who, in good faith, has cooperated in the investigation of a Violation is subject to discipline, including termination of employment or volunteer status.
If you believe that an individual who has made a good faith report of a Violation or who has, in good faith, cooperated in the investigation of a Violation is suffering harassment, retaliation or adverse employment consequences, please contact the Compliance Officer (see below).
Reporting Process
All directors, officers, employees, and volunteers should address their concerns relating to a Violation to any person within the theatre who can properly address those concerns. In most cases, the direct supervisor of an employee or volunteer is the person best suited to address a concern. However, if you are not comfortable speaking with your supervisor, if you are not satisfied with your supervisor's response or if a supervisor does not exist, you are encouraged to speak to the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer will be an active Board Member assigned by the Board President each year and voted on by a quorum of the Board. The contact information for the Compliance Officer can be found on Little Lake’s website under Board Information.
Any person who believes that there has been an actual or probably material violation of the law, or any material breach of a duty owned to the theatre, must report the violation to the Compliance Officer. However, if the person to whom he or she would normally report is implicated in a Violation, the person should report directly to the board of directors.
The theatre encourages anyone reporting a Violation to identify himself or herself when making a report in order to facilitate the investigation of the Violation. However, reports addressed to an individual within the theatre may be submitted on a confidential basis and reports may be submitted to the Compliance Officer anonymously in writing. Reports will be kept confidential, to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct a thorough investigation.
Compliance Officer
A supervisor, manager and board member is required to notify the Compliance Officer of every report of a Violation. The Compliance Officer will notify the sender and acknowledge receipt of a report of Violation within five business days, but only to the extent the sender's identity is disclosed or a return address is provided.
The Compliance Officer is responsible for promptly investigating all reported Violations and for reporting appropriate corrective action to be taken by the Governance Committee if warranted by the investigation.
The Governance Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for addressing all reported concerns or complaints of Violations relating to corporate accounting practices, internal controls or auditing. Therefore, the Compliance Officer must immediately notify the Governance committee of any such concern or complaint. In addition, unless the Compliance Officer deems it inappropriate, the Compliance Officer will advise the President of the Board of Directors of those and any reported Violations.
The Compliance Officer has direct access to the Board of Directors and is required to report to the Board of Directors quarterly about whether the Compliance Officer has received any reports under this policy.
2024 Compliance Officer:
- Name: Eric Leslie
- Email: compliance@littlelake.org
The Whistleblower Policy was adopted by the Board of Directors: April 2024